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Worst City?

I'd really hate to label any city the worst I've ever visited. Even the really shitty ones.

There were cities I was disappointed with but I'd probably live in them nonetheless. San Francisco really disappointed me the first time I visited AND that's with having friends that live there and could show me around. Same with Barcelona. Both beautiful cities but cities that could not live up to their pretensions and alas a bit dull. Boston is a bit boring but I'd live there in a minute. L.A. was less than the sum of its parts but it does have some pretty great neighborhoods -if you never have to leave yours or can teleport to another one, it's great.

In Europe the only city I ever thought I could live in and actually feel apart of was Berlin. It's not lovely but it's certainly interesting and welcoming to ex pats.

I hate Floridian cities but even Miami has been growing on me. But it's still pretty much a cultural vacuum even though it tries, really, really hard. But it's shallow, even more so than L.A. Label conscious, it's important what car you drive and where you live and definitely who you know. It's a big city but really it's very small. And let's not even discuss the food which tends to be overpriced and terrible with little variety.

I liked Chicago but it seemed cold and unfriendly. A mix of NYC and Toronto but with definite midwestern roots. And don't hate me for this but the people were generally fat and ugly or plain looking. <--- Miami rubbing off on me.


New Orleans is probably one of the worst cities on the continent but despite this it's still a pretty great place although most of that greatness is holding on to a past that's long gone. But even so, it's still probably the friendliest city you'll ever visit and somewhat fun for 3 days and it does have a pretty good share of cultural venues. And there's something to be said for the civility of having no open container law and being able to light up in a bar. I'd live there for max, 2 years and then get out, get detox and an AA sponsor. Just contrast it with Baton Rouge and you get a sense of how it different it is from other southern cities.

Some people are intimidated by New York but I also found it really easy to meet people there. You can have a conversation with someone in a shop and next thing you know you are friends. If they turn out to be psycho, you can drop them pretty easily since people rarely entertain at home.
 
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Atlanta would probably take it for me. There's truly no reason for that city to exist where it does, but having said that I can also find some nice things to say about the place...and I did.

I didn't know you were the Spacing contributor that wrote those pieces. They're some of my favorite articles to appear on Spacing Wire, and when I have contact with folks in those subject cities (PHX/Dallas/Houston), your description is what I think of first.
 
The last few posts provided an interesting "twist". For people that picked "worst" cities.... and have some experience (my experience with Toledo was so limited - I was not exposed to any variety other than just what I walked into - so I cannot do the same) list things that you actually liked in those "worst" (could be a street, district, or even just a hot dog :p) cities.

Living and visiting places are quite different - you can visit a place - find it to be a great place - but living there is not that great once you move there (and vice versa).

It is funny because I have mentioned (before visiting places) that I was going to visit some place - and I would here some people say blah - but the people are rude and unfriendly. I guess I am lucky, any place I have visited - most of the people I met - I found to be great.... I always wonder if maybe it is more related to the attitude of the person visiting than the locals :eek:
 
this is just canadians being smug pricks about the united states. we can be so trite.

Well, except, Winnipeg seems to be winning the worst city sweeps on this thread. And if you read this forum you'd see that most people here are very critical of where they live.

Like I said, I'd live in any of the cities I commented about, except maybe Chicago -but that's because it's cold and if I want cold I'll just move to Canada.
 
Canberra is pretty awful. Over-planned, overly sterile with absolutely no urban feel to it at all. Unless I somehow missed it, the closest thing to a downtown was a shopping mall.
 
How would Canberra compare to Brasilia?

Having never been to Brasilia, my view is a bit uninformed. Having said that, I think I would prefer Canberra only because it's not a million miles from anywhere. Canberra has the same super wide streets though not as daunting as Brasilia. I always see Brasilia as someday being reclaimed by the jungle - a sort of ruin-in-waiting. I would imagine though that Brasilia would be much livelier and entertaining. Canberra is just dull though there is a truly amazing and moving War Memorial which almost makes it worth visiting the city.
 
Having never been to Brasilia, my view is a bit uninformed. Having said that, I think I would prefer Canberra only because it's not a million miles from anywhere. Canberra has the same super wide streets though not as daunting as Brasilia. I always see Brasilia as someday being reclaimed by the jungle - a sort of ruin-in-waiting. I would imagine though that Brasilia would be much livelier and entertaining. Canberra is just dull though there is a truly amazing and moving War Memorial which almost makes it worth visiting the city.

Brasilia is not more entertaining. Everyone leaves on the weekend.
 
Worst Cities? Those with auto-dependent sprawl!

Everyone: Interesting topic on cities here-to me the worst ones are those who are car-dependent and have mega-sprawl surrounding them. Coool had one of
my worst that I have been to: Houston,Texas. It is flat,has a very humid climate and has the mega-sprawl I have come to dislike. Atlanta may be one of the worst in the US for sprawl but at least it has a half-decent transit system(MARTA)with a rail component. I like cities in which you have a choice on using an auto or using local or regional transit-like Toronto.
Thoughts from LI MIKE
 
I didn't know you were the Spacing contributor that wrote those pieces. They're some of my favorite articles to appear on Spacing Wire, and when I have contact with folks in those subject cities (PHX/Dallas/Houston), your description is what I think of first.

I wrote about Phoenix in Spacing - and came away pleasantly surprised.

I think the reason I hated Cornwall so much was because it was so disappointingly ugly and lifeless, so unlike Eastern Ontario cities. It's as if the same forces that destroyed Ogdensburg (I'd like to think of urban planning pirates that sailed the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Basin, raping and pillaging each city they took, but supposedly in the name of good) hit there, with the ugly downtown mall that sucked the life from the downtown.
 
Prypiat, Ukraine.
Looks safe enough now.
Chernobylpowerplantradioactivity.jpg
 

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